


At Sunset

by oneupboy



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Paopu Fruit (Kingdom Hearts), Post-Canon, Post-Game(s), Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-11 02:10:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18420675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneupboy/pseuds/oneupboy
Summary: It was true they were connected to each other through their loss of him, but during the arduous journey, had they lost sight of their foundation with one another? As Kairi and Riku gaze out at the horizon, dreaming of their lost friend, they realize they must clear the air or risk losing one another as well.





	At Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Readers! Thanks for stopping in. This fic is sort of a speculative conversation between Riku and Kairi after the events of KH3, where they come clean about a few things and have a chance to reconnect. The assumptions I made regarding the ending are that Kairi has been rescued, but Sora is still missing. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> This is my very first fan fiction that I've ever written, and I am excited to share. I would really appreciate any critique if you have time, and mentions of anything I could do better or of things I managed to get right. I appreciate your time.

In his absence, the temperate island evenings were beginning to bring a chill. 

As the two friends sat silently on the same old tree as always, Kairi wondered how she could feel so cold even as she gazed into the warm twilit sky. A harsh twinge of sorrow crossed over her heart, and, wincing, she looked away from the sunset. Her eyes fixed firmly on the pleats of her skirt; she could not afford to let herself glance to the side and see the empty space on the tree where he used to sit with them...

“I...” The second she began to break the silence, Kairi felt a familiar throb in the corners of her eyes, and brought her hand up to rub away the beginnings of tears. “I miss him...” Riku stayed silent, except for a forlorn sigh that let her know he heard her and had been thinking of Sora, too. Kairi raised her head to look at her friend. “I can’t stand just sitting here, without him...” Her tone was almost chastising, as if she was hurt by his silence; as if she hadn't forgotten it was Riku who let Sora run off and sacrifice himself once again. Having faith in Sora wasn't enough, she wanted to shout at Riku. Examining what she could of Riku’s expression from the side, however, Kairi’s bitterness ebbed away and returned to sorrow. She knew that he was hurting, too.

As the waves crashed against the base of the tiny island, the sun met the horizon, and the sky began to shift from gold to a deep red. Riku hopped down from the tree and took a few steps towards the edge. 

Kairi could feel that he had a lot on his mind. “Riku…?”

“Mm…” The boy paused to cross his arms, and Kairi heard him take a deep breathe. “I know we’ll find him, Kairi.”

Unintentionally, Kairi could not help but lean forward a little, intrigued. After everything that had happened recently, Riku’s confidence felt misguided to her, but hearing him speak in such a way was, admittedly, refreshing.

“You can feel him, can’t you? After all, you two are connected...” As he turned to face her, she thought she caught a teasing sparkle in his eye, like when the three of them were kids - but brushed it off, thinking it must have been the sunset bouncing off his eyes. “I mean… you shared a paopu, right?”

Kairi felt her heart drop when she heard his words. “You… saw that…?” Her stomach churned, and she absentmindedly fiddled with her necklace. Riku… was he hurt by something like that? Had he been holding this against her, waiting to kick her while she was down? She didn't think that was like him, at least not anymore. She thought that he had changed - that he wasn't like that jealous boy he used to be.

“Well,” he did not sound upset exactly, but there was an element of flippance in his voice. “I was sitting on the beach, right next to the tree… I couldn’t really miss it.”

Kairi’s brow was furrowed, and though she could feel Riku’s eyes trying to meet her gaze, she couldn't bring herself to look at him now. “Do you hate me?” She let out a small gasp, surprised at the forwardness of her own question. Hearing Riku gasp as well, she knew she couldn't let him answer that before saying her piece. Tensing up, she clutched the hem of her dress, and the words spilled out. “Riku - I’m so sorry; I never meant to go behind your back, or push you away from us! The truth is… The truth is I was afraid. Afraid of losing Sora, like I always do… Afraid of being left behind, like I always am! You two have such a strong bond - when I see that, I… I feel like I can never compare! I just wanted to feel close to him again… like when we were kids, drawing silly pictures in the Secret Place...” Saying those words out loud felt like yanking out a thorn; it stung, but she found herself strangely relieved.

When she had finished, silence hung in the air as Riku digested her words. He made his way over to her. His words were drenched in regret - a sign that he wished he had chosen his words more carefully before. “Kairi… I… I had no clue...” 

She finally looked up, and his eyes were right there, sparkling earnestly even in the dimming light. There wasn't a hint of bitterness in them… He really had changed. In that moment, Kairi felt her heart reach out to his, connecting with it in a way the two of them had not since they were children. Had Riku’s light always been this bright; this warm?

Meanwhile, Riku was groping for words. “It’s funny...”

“Huh?”

He weakly chuckled. “Actually, I always figured it was you who was closer to Sora...”

“Riku… I’m sorry…” Kairi hurriedly began, still torturing herself over the paopu thing. “If I ever made you f-”

“Kairi… there’s no need to apologize - for anything. I understand.” Riku looked hesitant to continue - now he was the one who couldn't meet Kairi’s gaze. “After all, the way you feel about Sora, well...” - at this, Kairi felt her cheeks grow warm - “I feel the same...”

Clearly a little embarrassed, Riku turned away to lean against the tree rather than face his friend. The last sliver of sun had already ducked behind the waters in the distance, and the sky grew darker by the minute. Kairi briefly wondered if they would sit out here all night thinking of him… As she looked out into the sky, she realized she wasn't as sad now. It was like a weight had been lifted off of her.

A wistful smile crossed her face for a moment before falling away. “You know, I used to tell Sora not to change, but… you both have grown so much, and I’m the one who stayed the same, still clinging to how things were when we were kids. Ever since I got my heart back in Hollow Bastion, I’ve felt this distance growing between us…” She summoned her keyblade, stroking her thumb across the gilded leaves - beautiful but fragile, she acknowledged regretfully. Grasping the handle, she swiped it through the air before banishing it back into her heart. “Even after all that training I did with Axel, I still couldn’t catch up. I guess I’m just afraid that things can never be like they were before.”

Riku’s arms were crossed again. “Say, Kairi?”

“Yeah Riku?”

“Things do change - people; feelings - but… what matters is that you’ll always be a part of our hearts - Sora’s, and mine, too.” His voice full of confidence now, he had apparently forgotten his previous bashfulness. “Whenever we’d go out adventuring, well… He’d always be talking about you!” Kairi let out a giggle, slightly embarrassed by this. “And… when I was lost and alone in the darkness, the one thing that kept me going was the thought of seeing you and Sora again. If I’m honest, if it wasn’t for you… Well, who knows where I’d be right now, or what form I might still be trapped in...” There was a pause as Riku collected his thoughts. “If I’ve learned one thing on this journey… It’s that you can’t let your fears control you. You don’t have to be afraid, Kairi. Fate has pulled the three of us apart more times than I can count - but every time, we find our way back to each other in the end. The three of us… We don’t need some fruit to connect us - the connection has been there all along!” Finishing his impassioned speech, Riku self consciously scratched at his cheek. “Er...”

Suddenly, tears cascaded down Kairi’s cheeks, but she was smiling.

“K-Kairi?” Riku asked urgently. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, not at all… Thank you, Riku.” Hopping down from the tree, she wrapped her arms around her friend. He tensed, not used to affection, but after a moment’s hesitation, he rested his hands on her back. This was the warmest Kairi had felt since Sora had been gone; she was glad Riku was with her. Pulling away, Kairi had a bittersweet feeling that their moment of closeness was coming to a close. She knew this moment they shared would always be in their hearts, but she never wanted to forget it. “Hey, Riku… wait here a second.” She knew it would be too dark now for Riku to see what she was doing. A minute later, she excitedly thrust something into Riku’s hands. “Here.”

Riku squinted at it in the darkness, but he could feel what it was from the shape. “A paopu?” He let out an incredulous chuckle. “Kairi, were you evening lis-”

Kairi shook her head, cutting him off. “I know now that we don’t need this to be connected, but… I want to share one anyway, for good luck. And when we find Sora, and we’re all together again, then-” choking up, she let her sentence trail off and hoped her feelings would say the rest.

Nodding, Riku spoke immediately. “I understand.” Kairi was glad to be saved from having to struggle with her words. 

Kairi held up the paopu for him to take a bite, as he did the same for her. It was completely dark at this point, but Kairi felt at peace. “Riku, let’s go… together. Let’s save Sora.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Edit 4/12/2019: I've amended the fic with contractions where I felt it would be appropriate, to improve the flow of the writing.


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